McKeesport, PA. – After dropping their first three games of the season at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Volleyball team is set to open the home half of their schedule on Monday when they take on Carlow at 7 p.m. Monday will be the second meeting between these two teams this season after Carlow took a 3-0 win in the season opener on August 30th.
Last time out, PSUGA Volleyball fell to Penn State University Athletic Conference rival Penn State DuBois 3-0 on the final day of the USCAA Tip-off Tournament. Despite losing all three sets, PSUGA was competitive throughout the evening getting into the 20 point range in each of the three sets on the afternoon.
They battled to a 24-24 tie late in set one before giving up the final two points and falling 26-24. The second set saw them go back and forth with DuBois staying within three points throughout the set. However, they were unable to finish the job and fell 25-22 to fall behind 2-0 on the afternoon. They ended the day with another win-by-two scenario and, after trading points with DuBois, were unsuccessful completing the comeback and fell 27-25 to complete the sweep.
Sophomores Alix Ellis (Derry, PA./Derry Area HS) and Sueriah Timsah (Mesquite, TX./West Mesquite HS) continued their strong start to the season leading the offense with nine and five kills respectively. Angelina Alpirez (San Jacinto, CA./San Jacinto HS) led the defense picking up a career-high 15 digs in the loss.
Despite their current record, PSUGA has many positives to build off of moving forward. Their defense played solid and their passing game was on point throughout the tournament. That competitive edge is something Finocchi was proud to see.
“Despite our record, we played competitively and played strong,” said Finocchi. “Most of our games were within two to three points so we can only go up from there.”
Carlow enters Monday’s game coming off of a 3-1 win over Kent State Tuscarawas in their home opener on Thursday. The Celtics combined for 55 kills and hit .226 on the night to down Kent State. They were led by freshman Katie Tarasovich and junior Cache Street who finished the night with 16 and 14 kills respectively.
Previous Match-ups
In seven previous match-ups with Carlow, PSUGA has a record of 0-7 and will be looking for their first win on Monday. Their last match-up came in the 2019 season opener when Carlow swept PSUGA 3-0 at the USCAA Tip-off Tournament. Timsah led the offense for PSUGA in the game with six kills while Street paced the Celtics with 11 kills on the day.
Tip-off for Monday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Wunderly Gymnasium. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and you can watch the game live at bit.ly/PSUGAYT.
